Hello Tess-H, 

It's reassuring that you had the mammogram and no cancer was present but it must be rather uncomfortable for you to be experiencing this severe muscle pain under your shoulder blade along the scar whenever you lean forward so many years after having the mastectomy. You will find on our website a detailed account of possible problems you may experience after a mastectomy and nerve pain is listed in there as well as shoulder stiffness. Your GP seems to think it is possibly due to trapped nerves and if you find that the doctor wasn't overly helpful it might be a good idea to consider getting a second opinion just to make sure this is indeed due to trapped nerves and also to see whether they have anything they can recommend to alleviate this pain especially as this is affecting your sleep and is proving debilitating. 

I am not sure myself whether this is a common problem but I hope that you will hear from others on here who have experienced something similar. 

Feel free also to give our cancer nurses a call on this free number 0808 800 4040 - their helpline is open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm and they will be happy to answer questions you might have. 

I hope that you manage to talk to another doctor soon and get relief from this unpleasant pain. 

Best wishes, 

Lucie, Cancer Chat Moderator